Ver. 34.-0hristian and unchristian carefulness. Take care not to be overtaken and overweicrhted by care is the simple and intelligible paradox of the text; in other words have ea wise care lest you have much care that is unwise. There is a carefulness that l1l eminently godly and worthy, the absence of which is not only faulty and dangerous, but even guilty and fatal; but there is another carefulness which is an excess, a wrong, an injury in the last degree. I. A WISE ORDINATION OF Gon. Surely it is in pure kindness to us that God has ordained that if we will not work neither shall we eat; that possession and enjoyment involve thoughtfulness and activity on our part. To be provided with everything we could wish for without the necessity for habitual consideration as well as regular exertion is found to be hurtful, if not positively disastrous to the spirit. The necessity for care, in the sense of a thoughtful provision for this life, involves two great blessings. 1. The formation of many homely but valuable virtues-the cultivation of the intellect, fore- thought, diligence, sobriety of ~hought and conduct, reg~.larity of_ daily _habits, the practice of courtesy, and the av01dance of offence, etc. 2. lhe practice of piety; there is perhaps no better field in which we can be serving God t~an in that of our daily duties as citizens of this world. Whether it be the countmg-house, the desk, the factory, the shop, the hom~, the scho~l,-in ea~h and in all of thes~ there is a const~t opportunity for remembenng and do!Di:( the will of God ; there will true and genuine godliness find a field for its exercise and its growth. II. OccASION FOR FILI.AL TRUST. Care, in the 6ense of anxiety, about our temporal affairs is an evil to be wet and mastered .by Christian thought. Christ has said to 1.111, CH. XXI. 1-38.J THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKK 103
"Talte no thought [be not anxious] for your lifo" (Matt. vi. 25); Paul writes," Be careful [anxiousl for nothing," etc. (Phil. iv. 6); Peter says," Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you" (1 Pet. v. 7). Clearly our Christian duty is to rlo our best with head and hand, by thoughtfulness and diligence, to ask for God's direc- tion and blessing, and then to put our trust in him, resting humbly but confidently on his Word of promise. '£his is a promise where there is much occasion for filial trust- fulness. When the way is dark we must not yield to an unspiritual anxiety, but rise to a holy, childlike faith in our heavenly Father. III. A SPHERE FOB DETERMINED LIMITATION. The great and the growing temptation is to fill our lives and hearts with the affairs of time. No more needful or seasonable counsel could be given us than this of our Lord, "Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be overcharged with ... the cares of this life." Undue and unwise carefulness about these mundane interests does two evil things: it wears out that which is good-good health, good spirits, good temper; and it shuts out that which is best-for it excludes the worship and the direct service of God; it leaves no time for devout meditation, for profitable and instructive reading, for religious exercises, for Christian work. lt shuts men up to the lesser and lower activities; it dwarfs their life, it starves their soul; they" lose their life itself for the sake of the means of Jiving." Two things are requisite, requiring a very firm and vigorous hand. 1. To resist the temptation to enlarge our worldly activities when such enlargem,mt means spiritual shrinka:?;e, as it very often does. 2. To insist upon it that tbe cares of life shall not exclude daily communion with God and the culture of the soul. If we do not exhihit thi3 wise care against the unwise carefulness, we shall (1) displease our Divine Lord by our disobedience; (2) sacrifice ourselves to our circumstances; (3) be unready for the advancing future; "that day will come upon us unawares," and we shall not be "worthy to stand before the Son of man n (see next homily).-C.
Ver. 36.-Standing before (Jhrist. "Watch ... and pray that ye may be accounted worthy . . . to stand before the Son of man." What is involved in this worthiness? It must include our being- I. PREPARED TO GIVE ACCOUNT TO HIM. We know that we shall have to do that (Rom. xiv. 10; 2 Cor. v. 10); and we must expect, when we do stand before the Judge, to account to Jesus Christ for (1) the relation which we have voluntarily sustained to himself-how we have received his invitation, and with what fulness we have accepted him as the Redeemer, the Friend, the Lord of our heart and life; (2) the way in which we have served him since we called ourselves by his Name- i.e. how closely we have followed him, how obedient we have been to his command- ments, how earnest and faithful we ha.ve showed ourselves in his cause; in fact, how true and loyal we have proved to be as his servants here. II. CoNFORlllED TO HIS LIKENESS. Will not our Lord expect to find those who pro- fessed to be his disciples, who had access to so many anrl such great privileges, stand before him such as lte lived and died to make them 1 We know what that is. " He gave himself for us, to redeem us from all iniquity;" he has "called us to holiness;" he came and wrought his work in order that he might make us to be in our spirit and character the children of God, bearing our heavenly Father's image. He will there- fore look to those who stand before him as his redeemed ones for: 1. Purity of heart; the abhorrence of all that is evil, and love for that which is good and true and pure. 2. A loving spirit ; a spirit of unselfishness, of devotedness, of generosity, of tender solicitude for the well-being of others. 3. Reverence and consecration of heart to Uod. 111. READY FOR THE HEAVENLY SPHERE. To" stand before" the king meant to be ready to fulfil his royal behest, prepared to do at once and to do effectively whatever he might require. 'l'o stand before our Divine Sovereign means to be ready to <lo his bidding, to execute bis commandments as he shall employ us in his heavenly service. ,ve naturally and rightly hope that he will entrust us with the most honourable errands, will appoint us to elevated posts, will charge us with noble occupations that will demand enlarged ability and that will contribute great things to his ca~se and kinguom. We may be sure that the devoted and faithful disc.nargo of our duties here will prove the best preparation ior celestial activity and usefulness. He that is faithful in a few thing$ now will be made ruler over many tbin~s hereafter. Ho who puts out 1,UKE.-II. 0 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. [err. xx1. 1-38.